Video of presentation given by Prof. Yaneer Bar-Yam for the Technology and the Corporation conference series sponsored by MIT's Industrial Liaison Program about the application of complex systems analytics for sports.

A new center devoted to the study of complex systems science has opened on the campus of SUNY Binghamton. The director of the new Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems is Hiroki Sayama, NECSI's first postdoctoral student and long-standing affiliate.

Prof. Bar-Yam was invited to give a keynote speech for the center's October 22nd launch. His presentation covered complex systems topics ranging from the Syrian crisis, to the Ebola epidemic, to public sentiment in New York City as expressed through Tweets.

At a lunch discussion at MIT with computer and data science researchers, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, NECSI co-faculty member, spoke about the methodology for dealing with fat tails, with application to violence. He explains that there are some claims which can be made from data, but "violence has dropped" is not one of them. The discussion in only indirectly focused on Steven Pinker's popular science book, as some people in political science have made reference to it.

Panel discussion on the science and politics of the Renewable Fuel Standard and other aspects of America's biofuel policy, chaired by Paul Bledsoe, president of Bledsoe and Associates, featuring Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT).

In an informal seminar with staff of the international food assistance organization,
Yaneer Bar-Yam presents an overview of complex systems principles and
NECSI research on food prices, ethnic violence, social unrest, and spatial sentiment patterns.

Panel discussion on the importance of trade, impediments to trade, and how trade can advance the development agenda, chaired by The Honorable Ann M. Veneman, former executive director, UNICEF; former secretary, US Department of Agriculture.

Dan Braha From Politics and Finance to Power Grids and Products: Addressing Complexity in the Interconnected World

How can we manage the financial crisis? How do civil unrest, religion, and rumors spread, and how is that related to epidemics and earthquakes? Can human behavior and societal systems be studied in the same way as biological systems and complex man-made systems?

In this webinar, MIT visiting professor and NECSI faculty member Dr. Dan Braha will demonstrate how the field of complexity research provides clues to these intriguing questions. He will focus on why and how complex socio-economic systems evolve and why these large scale engineering systems fail and offer guidelines that can be applied across industries and organizations around the world.

Yaneer Bar-Yam What is Complex Systems Science? Opportunities and Insights

Only 15 years ago, complex systems science had to justify its existence. Today it is taking the world by storm. Networks, big data, cascading crises, extreme events, the word "systems," and many other ideas are widely accepted and the basis for new advances and increasing the scope of science.

What is this movement about, what changes are in store, and what are the opportunities for engagement?

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused extensive loss of life and up to $50B in property damage, Yaneer Bar-Yam discusses in a NECSI Online Briefing how lessons from Sandy, and from Hurricane Katrina before that, can help cities, states, and the nation better prepare for large-scale crises. The work described was done in collaboration with Paul Seguin, Yavni Bar-Yam, Vedant Misra, and Dion Harmon.

Food price spikes in 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 triggered food riots across the world - including the Arab Spring. NECSI quantified the heightened propensity for violence, unrest and revolution during times of high food prices. NECSI predicted another price bubble and corresponding surge in violence by the end of this year, but the worst U.S. drought in half a century has accelerated this process. Yaneer Bar-Yam presents NECSI's findings linking high food prices and unrest, and outline the significant causes of a decade-long price run-up: excessive financial speculation and the large-scale conversion of corn to ethanol. The work described was done in collaboration with Marco Lagi, Karla Z. Bertrand, Yavni Bar-Yam, Dominic K. Albino, and Greg Lindsay.

Presenting a few perspectives on the current trends in education from the perspective of a complex systems scientist. Among the likely topics: centrally prescribed metrics and standardized testing, charter schools, and innovations in mathematics education. Discussion based on analysis of complexity and scale, the substructure of neural cognition, and other relevant complex systems insights.

Stuart Kauffman

The End Of A Physics Worldview: Heraclitus and the Watershed of Life

At the dawn of Western philosophy and science, some 2,700 years ago, Heraclitus declared, "The world bubbles forth." There is, in this fragment of thought, a natural magic, a creativity beyond the entailing laws of modern physics. Heraclitus was right about the evolution of the biosphere and human life. We live beyond entailing law in a natural magic we co-create. This talk was developed in collaboration with Giuseppe Longo.

NECSI and MIT/ESD Seminar recorded on Wednesday October 19, 2011 1h 23m

This talk addresses common misconceptions about the predictability of high dimensional complex systems, from weather to economic markets and social systems, using specific quantitative approaches that are able to predict human collective behaviors. It also considers the possibility of developing early warning signs for crises in a wide range of natural and engineered systems. There are important implications for the future of science, and the responsibility of science for society. Audience questions about both practical (policy) and philosophical aspects of these issues (free will) are discussed.